A water draining chamber is used in motor vehicles underneath the vehicle pane for instance the windshield, said box collecting water from said pane and draining it sideways. Illustratively an extruded profile element or contoured extrusion molded element is used to affix the water draining chamber to and seal it against the lower edge of the pane and furthermore is fitted with a snap-in groove to detachably receive said box.
To preclude forming an offset or an edge in the transition zone between the pane surface and the profile element, the published German patent document DE 200 08 555 U1 discloses a design for sealing vehicle panes and including a cross-sectionally hooked profile element which is bonded to the lower edge of the vehicle pane. Said profile element comprises a resilient leg which, together with a ribbed wedge, constitutes an outwardly open snap-in seat. Said snap-in seat receives the water draining chamber which is fitted on its back side with a detent rib. A sealing lip is fitted onto the ribbed wedge and may be fitted between the lower pane edge and the upper edge of the water draining chamber's lid and in its assembled position ends flush with the external surfaces of water draining chamber and vehicle pane. A buffer strip made of a softer material is configured below the snap-in groove and allows resting the seal against the vehicle body.
The profile element must be supported by the vehicle body because a high resistance must be overcome when the water draining chamber is inserted perpendicularly to the pane surface into the profile element. In turn said resistance is required to always reliably affix the water draining chamber to said element, that is, in order not to accidentally coming loose when in motion on the road or on account of other mechanical or thermal loads. On the other hand maintenance frequently entails detaching the water draining chamber from the vehicle pane and reassembling it for instance when changing a filter.
However relatively high forces are always encountered when installing the water draining chamber and they directly act on the adhesive bond between the profile element and the vehicle pane. In the absence of the contoured body resting on the vehicle body or absent per se from such a body, there is danger of the installation stresses detaching the profile element from the vehicle pane.
The profile elements of the state of the art moreover incur the further drawback that resting on the vehicle body may entail annoying noises, especially so when the highly compliant support elements lose their elasticity with time.